Richard Garriott visited both poles, space and the Mariana Trench

British entrepreneur Richard Garriott plunged into the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean and descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

British-born Richard Garriott has passed becoming the fourteenth person to plunge to deepest place on Earth. However, he is the only person in this group who can also boast of having visited space and both poles.

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The expedition to the deepest place on the planet and back to the surface took him 12 hours. The plunge was carried out using the Limiting Factor vehicle. The device is the first certified to carry out this type of expedition in a commercial capacity. In recent years, more people have gone to the bottom of the Mariana Trench with its help than ever before in history.

As always, a number of samples and materials for research were collected during the immersion. Although the exploration of the deepest places on Earth has been much more intensive in recent years, we still know practically nothing about them and are only taking the first steps towards understanding them.

Richard Garriott is president of the prestigious Explorers Club and it’s fair to say he inherited his love of extreme travel from his father, who was an American scientist and astronaut.

The latest expedition was not his debut in the deep. Previously, Garriott had visited, among others, the wreck of the legendary Titanic, and had also been on board a Russian submarine. However, none of his previous experiences allowed him to dive to such enormous depths.

Visiting the Challenger Deep was certainly an incredible experience. However, speaking to reporters, Richard Garriott admitted that of all his expeditions, the one that made the biggest and indelible impression on him was going into space. I have to say, it’s hard for me to agree or disagree with that, but I would love to have that opportunity one day.

Photo: Richard Garriott